Two people die in raging wildfires in central Greece | Climate Crisis News

Authorities say two people have died in a rugged mountainous area of ​​central Greece while trying to help firefighters fight a forest fire that has forced several villages to evacuate.

The fire near Corinth, 140 kilometers (87 miles) west of Athens, was still burning Monday, fanned by strong winds.

Greek police spokeswoman Constantina Dimoglidou said the recovered bodies were badly burned and laboratory tests were needed to identify them.

The Greek Ministry of Citizen Protection said the fire department had opened an investigation.

Smoke from the fire, which burned down several homes and a church, hovered over the capital throughout Monday.

Greece, like other southern European countries, is hit by devastating forest fires in the summer, exacerbated by global warming. The country experienced its hottest summer on record this year, after the warmest winter on record, with large areas seeing little or no rain.

In recent months, authorities have had to manage more than 4,500 wildfires in rural areas parched by a prolonged drought and early summer heatwaves, in what was considered the most dangerous wildfire season in two decades.